'Care to provide the source for that'
Came up as a Reuter report in the Irish Times three weeks ago - not the 'Jerusalem Post', I'll grant you, but......
You have the facts of the occupation from the petition - disclaim it if you can, (it came along with a 'before-and-after map). But even if Israel had a cast-iron reason for its occupation, there can be no excuse for the systematic mass-murder of the civilian population, one third of those having been children.
Every tyrant in history has claimed 'defence of the fatherland', 'motherland', 'homeland', 'realm'... whatever, to excuse such behaviour - Israel's reason appearing to be 'God's chosen people fighting for 'The Promised Land' - as I said, a 2,000 year old myth. In a somewhat heated debate on 'Questions Time' recently one 'defender of the faith' gave as a defence "Read your bible!"
My views on the threat of racism to our civilisation was formed at an early age by images of the Nazi death-camps - which makes it all the more distressing seeing the victims become the perpetrators to the extent that they now have.
Whatever way you paint it, Palestine is an impoverished third-world state fighting over occupied territory and Israel an imperialist nuclear power obviously aiming to push the Gazans into the sea.
One of the interesting, if ironic aspects of this argument, and others on racism on this forum has been to see closet racists emerge from their hidey-holes and watch as the mask gradually slips.
Jim Carroll